Northrop guard dishes out assists when shot not there

Brenton Scott described it as a sign of being a leader. When your shot isn't falling, when the opportunity is not there, do not force it but instead find a teammate.

Brenton and brother, Bryson, did a lot of that in the first half of Tuesday's 58-42 home victory over Carroll. A combined 3-of-13 over the first 16 minutes, the Scott twins were not at their best early.

In past years, that would have led to more and more attempted shots. On Tuesday, it led to more assists.

“It comes with maturity,” said Brenton about finding open teammates. “You need to know when to attack and know when to get rid of the ball.”

The Scott boys had just nine points combined in the first half against the Chargers, but Class 4A No. 3 Northrop (3-0) held a 28-24 lead at halftime. That lead quickly ballooned to double digits in the third quarter when the duo began to find their stroke.

Purdue recruit Bryson struggled much of the night finding the basket while battling the flu, but still finished with 10 points and nine rebounds. Indiana State recruit Brenton led the way with 25 points, including four three-pointers.

“Brenton is playing the way that I have seen him play, so it is no surprise to me what he is doing,” Northrop coach Barak Coolman said.

Once Brenton got on track after halftime, Carroll (0-4) had no answer. While he has always been a solid spot-up shooter, Brenton has displayed an ability to get to the basket this season seen more out of his brother. His three-pointer in the closing seconds of the third quarter put the Bruins back up by double digits, while his three-point play just a few minutes later effectively put the game out of reach.

“I am used to knowing when I can get my shots off and when I need to go off the dribble,” Brenton said. “It is all about getting my teammates involved as well.”

There was plenty of that on Tuesday, with 6-foot-4 senior Cory Womack showing off his inside-out ability with 13 points and eight rebounds, including a three-pointer and several layups.

“Cory has worked really hard and really is a threat from everywhere on the floor,” Coolman said. “He made some big shots for us in the first half when we needed him to.”

Carroll was paced by Chandler White's 13 points.

While the praise has been heaped on Brenton and Bryson over their high school careers, this Northrop senior class has yet to win a SAC crown. To do that, the Bruins will have to showcase the teamwork it displayed Tuesday throughout the season.

“This team, these seniors, they want that SAC championship,” Coolman said. “It will be a tough road, but we feel like we can do it.”

Comments

News-Sentinel.com reserves the right to remove any content appearing on its website. Our policy will be to remove postings that constitute profanity, obscenity, libel, spam, invasion of privacy, impersonation of another, or attacks on racial, ethnic or other groups. For more information, see our user rules page.